Inside the Swimming Legends event at Omega House

The swim kings gathered for a special tribute night at the luxe Omega House in Rio...

Three swimming icons gathered for a special Swimming Legends event at the Omega House in Rio. The most decorated Olympian, Michael Phelps, was joined by South African swim king Chad le Clos and former Olympian Alexander Popov.

Making the night even more special was the fact that Phelps had announced his retirement from the sport after an incredible 28 Olympic medals, including another five gold and one silver at the ongoing Olympic Games. "There's no better way to finish a career," he said. "I think it was finally setting in that this was my last time. These were my last races ever. That was going through my head the whole time and it just made me emotional."

His rival in the pool, le Clos believed Phelps' retirement will only spur him on to try and achieve even greater things, saying, "Michael has always inspired me every day. To think that he's retired is difficult. I've asked him nicely if he'll stick around for another year or so. But now that he's gone I feel like there are a lot of things I need to get closer to, like a world record for example. There's a lot more of me that the world hasn't seen."

On another note, Omega ambassador Popov — winner of nine medals and is now on the Organising Committee for the Rio Games — commented that the 2016 Olympics has been infused with so much culture thanks to the host nation. "The Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro have had a lot of Brazilian flavour," he said. "If you take the organisational part, if you take the Opening Ceremony, if you take the food, culture, colour, traffic, construction, we will remember the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro for quite some time."

A note about relevant advertising

We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising
and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites. This is also known as Online Behavioural
Advertising. You can find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out here